1. Field of the Invention
One aspect of the present invention generally relates to a method and system for generating trimlines for stamping processes.
2. Background Art
Since the introduction of computer aided design (CAD) and computer aided manufacturing (CAM) tools into tool shops, operators and engineers have been laying out trimlines by manually cutting sections through the CAD representation of sheet metal parts, which is a laborious and time-consuming process. On average, 10-15 hours are devoted to manually completing an accurate trimline layout.
The accuracy of the trimline layout can vary widely depending on the level of experience of the operator or engineer. The operator or engineer must typically consider complex sheet metal bending principles while laying out the manual trimlines, and make assumptions to simplify the principles based on experience so that the principles can be applied to the manual process.
CAD system developers have failed to develop effective tools to assist tool shops in decreasing the completion time for trimline layouts due, in part, to the complexity of the sheet metal bending principles. A tool exists with limited functionality directed at the development of reference trimlines. This tool does not account for metal thickness, instead using the geometric surface to generate the reference trimline, which is not suitable for use in production. Instead, the reference trimline can be used as a rough guide. However, the manual process is still needed to produce an accurate trimline for production purposes.
Moreover, the geometry of a trimline layout is needed to generate the NC cutter path to machine the trim steels that is inserted into opposing dies. It is often difficult to predict the behavior of the part sheet metal in subsequent die operations, thereby generating inaccurate trimlines. In such cases, the trim steels must be recut during die tryout to achieve product intent.
The manual process is not only relatively time consuming, it can produce inconsistent results based on the experience of the operator or engineer.
In light of the foregoing, what is needed is a computer-implemented method and system for generating a trimline layout for a stamped part. What is also needed is a computer-implemented method and system for generating consistently accurate trimline layouts in a relatively short amount of time.